CemSites brings cloud tech to cemetery management

The duo co-founded CemSites, a software company that helps cemetery owners manage record keeping, GPS mapping and other operations. Since its launch in 2012, McAfee said the software has been implemented by hundreds of cemeteries in more than 40 states.

After starting in Johnson’s basement and outgrowing several office spaces, CemSites currently works out of a 3,000-square-foot facility in Perryopolis with 13 employees. McAfee said the company now plans to expand into a larger office space next year.

Bringing tech to cemetery management is still a fairly untapped market, and Johnson and McAfee said often people don’t realize just how many cemeteries there are in the U.S. They said many of the companies they work with are upgrading from personal record keeping and paper maps.

CemSites offers a variety of software modules — from record keeping and mapping to accounting and sales — so small and large cemeteries can choose which services fit their needs best. McAfee said it costs anywhere from a couple thousand dollars to a couple hundred thousand dollars, depending on the size of the cemetery and the number of users.

“The technology of CemSites changed the way we manage our cemetery,” said Tom Hewitt, superintendent of Belle Vernon Cemetery, in a prepared statement. “Our records have never been more accurate and the Lot View tool actually helped us clean up our data because we could see it like never before. All the information is at my fingertips.”

CemSites’ technology works to improve the experience of visitors in a cemetery, as well, by providing GPS directions to any gravesite by typing in a name on the cemetery’s website.

McAfee said CemSites earned about $2 million in revenue this year. Going forward, the company plans to offer an option for small cemetery management to get basic services with a monthly fee.